Style

Orapa Gallery of Wearable Arts is the latest boutique addition to downtown Willow Glen. Selling edgy, avant-garde, European-style fashions, Orapa Gallery caters to women with an experimental fashion sense who are looking for something a little different. The boutique is the brainchild of owner Cedide Olcay. Born in Turkey, Oclay moved to the United States and earned two masters degrees in mathematics before deciding that fashion and textiles were her true passion. She now runs Orapa Gallery, producing clothing and accessories under her Cdd Silhouettes label. Oclay creates her own textiles by hand, making nuno fabric by combining felt and open weave materials such as silk in a complex process that results in stunningly, multitextured cloth. She sews this unique medium into striking ponchos, vests, shirts, shawls, scarves and various other accessories that will set you out from the crowd.

etro Electro produces funky, handmade cooking aprons that are both flirtatious and functional, and available at Magpie Home and Garden in Morgan Hill. Composed from an eclectic mishmash of vintage fabrics, salvaged material and modern prints, they are complete with pockets and long tie strings at the back. Being edged in lace and ruffles, these aprons also have a lingerielike appearance to make home entertainment a playful and sexy affair. They are supergirly and will keep your clothes clean while you serve up the Christmas roast, and make great hostess or housewarming gifts, too.

DOUBLE-BREASTED PEA COAT by Millard

Infiniti Boutique in Los Gatos boasts contemporary urban clothing that you will never come across at Valley Fair mall. Owner June Huynh hand-picks most of the boutique's edgy fashion selections from emerging European and Japanese designers, making Infiniti far more than a typical specialty clothing shop. The handsome Western style men's button-down shirt by 191 Unlimited has just the right combination of distinctive styling and casual comfort. A hipster take on the classic Western-style shirt, it features a mauve plaid pattern contrasting with twin gray snap flap pockets, yokes and gore. The shirt's casual dressed-down styling is enhanced by the subtle layering and copper rivets on the front pockets and shoulders.

Bring out your inner Japanese schoolgirl with a short pleated wool skirt by Tokyo style house Y's Red Label from Manaz in Los Gatos. This super kawaii black wrap-around features an understated red plaid stripe and grommeted side buckle. It also has an asymmetrical hem that's longer in back, to give the wearer a sexy bounce when they walk. Y's Red Label kicked off this year's Japan Fashion Week, so be willing to pay the extravagant prices that go along with the exclusive apparel.

Spruce up your home décor with oversize ornamental calligraphy brushes, made in Afghanistan out of carved wood and jade. This and scores of other Asian-inspired trinkets are sold at the Colory in downtown Morgan Hill, an interior furnishing store owned by designer Sherry Tollefsrud. The opulent novelty brushes come in an array of colors and sizes, from small hand-held versions all the way up to gigantic stone brushes over two feet in length.